Fabrication and Characterization of a Low-Cost Micro-Volume Electrochemical Cell Using PCB for Electroanalytical Applications

Abstract

Two pieces of printed circuit board (PCB) were used to pattern working electrode (p-WE) on one piece and the reference and auxiliary electrodes (p-RE and p-AE, respectively) on the second piece using photolithography followed by wet etching. Teflon spacer/filter paper was mounted between two patterned PCB pieces to separate p-WE from p-RE and p-AE, to provide a space to hold electrolyte solution and finally to assemble low-volume/micro-volume electrochemical cells, respectively. The electrochemical performances of the assembled electrochemical cells were evaluated by cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry using [Fe(CN)6]3−/4− as the redox probe and the obtained results were compared with those obtained using a conventional electrochemical cell. Then, the assembled micro-volume electrochemical cell was applied for the electrochemical detection of alanine as a typical amino acid with satisfactory results. The reproducibility for five times detection of 10 μl alanine (5 mM) using the assembled micro-volume electrochemical cell was better than 12%.